From left: Kisii University Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Evans Baswet, Machakos University Academic Research & Student Affairs, Prof. Joyce Agalo; Embu University Vice-Chancellor; and Vice-Chancellors Committee Chairperson, Prof. Daniel Mugendi, Kirinyaga University Vice-Chancellor, Mary Ndung'u and Kenyatta University Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Paul Wainaina, during a press conference in Nairobi on Friday, September 8, 2023. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The Vice-Chancellors' Committee of Public Universities has clarified that the new first-year students admitted under the new funding model are not required to pay any tuition fees until the Higher Education Fund categorises them.

In a press statement on Friday, September 8, the chairperson of the committee, Prof. Daniel Mugendi, said that the students should only pay for accommodation costs if they opt for on-campus housing.

He said that the public universities are currently admitting the new first-year students as placed by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS).

"We can confirm that public universities have already admitted most of the students placed by KUCCPS. For instance: Kenyatta University has already admitted 7,752 out of the 7,979 students placed by KUCCPS; Kisii University has already admitted 7,160 out of the 8,670 students placed by KUCCPS; Moi University has already admitted 4,103 out of the 5,480 students placed by KUCCPS; Maseno University students are yet to report and they should be reporting on Monday 11th September, 2023," he said.

He added that the public universities are reaching out to parents and guardians to ensure that admission of first-year students attains 100 per cent.

Prof. Mugendi also dismissed the media reports that claimed that the public universities were demanding tuition fees from the new first-year students.

"The new first-year students that are currently being admitted into public universities are not required to pay any tuition fees under the new funding model until the Higher Education Fund (comprising of the Universities Fund and HELB) finalises the categorisation of the students. For avoidance of doubt, no public university has demanded for the payment of tuition fees. Accordingly, no student has been turned away for non-payment of tuition fees in any of the public universities," he said.

He urged all the stakeholders and the public to lend their support and understanding as the public universities implement and comply with the new funding model and policy that will ensure that no student is disadvantaged when they join the public universities.

The press statement was issued after a Vice-Chancellors' Committee meeting held on Friday at the University of Nairobi, Confucious Institute.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Education extended the loan and scholarship application deadline from September 7 to October 7 to allow all students who qualify to apply.

As of September 5, a total of 156,532 out of the 265,000 students who qualified for university and college funding in 2022 KCSE had applied for funding.

However, 40 per cent of the students were yet to apply which led to the extension by a month to give them time to do so.

The Universities Fund and HELB are expected to ensure that the processing and disbursement exercise is conducted on a continuing basis.